‘Yeah,’ he admitted. ‘With you I am. Because you’re a spoilt princess too used to getting anything she wants.’
‘I really don’t like you.’
‘And I don’t much like you either. But the fact is we’re meant to end up in bed together.’ He growled, pressing her pelvis harder into his to prove the point.
‘It’s not going to happen.’ She didn’t know who she was telling—him or her own wayward body.
‘Do you honestly think you could refuse?’
‘You really are arrogant.’
‘But, Amanda—’ his eyes locked onto hers ‘—I have every reason to be.’
She couldn’t handle him. Her hand itched with the desire to slap it across his cheek. Never had the thought of physical violence been so tempting. But there was another fantasy even more satisfying—even more shocking. She’d have him beneath her—have him out of control. And she would do everything she’d dreamed of to him—until he was the one begging her, until he was the one shuddering in desperation for her touch.
Bad to the bone was how Jared James made her want to be. But unless he was up front about how much he wanted her, in the same way he was asking her to be, then ‘no’ was going to be her answer. ‘No’ had to be her answer—she couldn’t afford to stuff this up. It took all her concentration to regulate her breathing, to cool her response, desperate to find a way to push him back before she betrayed herself completely and begged for him to touch her more.
‘Is this you “controlling it”, Jared?’ Sounding as frigid as an icicle.
For a second it froze him and she took the chance to push free of his arms.
She tossed her head and met his stormy expression with far more calm than she was feeling. ‘Now are you going to show me the factory or not?’
Jared stared into her eyes, watching the clouds thicken in them, feeling her body cool and grow taut even though she now stood the best part of a metre away. The last sliver of his humour vanished and the silence grew.
The weird thing was he’d been so sure he could control it—hadn’t he been the one to say no before? Yet now the effort was tearing him apart and she was the one holding fast. It made him all the more determined.
He wanted to hear her say how much she wanted him. He wanted to blast through that icy outer layer and find that passion.
He was a sexual being, well used to being wanted by women. But he wanted to hear Amanda admit it. Since when was he so needy? He knew already, didn’t he? He could see all the signs of arousal in her body. But it wasn’t enough.
The hunger infuriated him.
He spent a gruff hour showing her the factory, ignoring the sidelong glances and obvious speculation of his employees—personal tours weren’t something he ever did.
Back in Reception she looked no higher than his chin as she spoke. ‘Thank you very much—’
‘Cut the crap.’ He couldn’t stand her finishing-school politeness a minute longer—not when he wanted the real, raw response he knew was bubbling beneath her poised exterior. ‘I’ll see you Monday.’
She worked almost every minute of the weekend, and every second of it she thought of Jared. Could feel his fingers skimming her skin, could catch his scent in the air, could hear his low murmur in her ear—his audacity, his blatant sexual references. They’d end up in bed together, huh?
Hell would freeze over first.
But as much as she wanted it—to have him, to get it over so she could get over it—she couldn’t. On Sunday night she spent the early hours tossing and turning before giving up entirely. She was trapped, wanting him beyond desperation but unable to have him—she had to keep control of this job. She had to do a good job.
Anxiety stifled her appetite. Nerves made her knees knock. Sexual frustration fogged her rationale. She was held together by the thinnest of threads and it was already fraying in the taxi on the way to meet him.
His suit was the first thing she noticed. The second was his utter lack of smile and that last little thread inside her snapped.
The first thing he criticised was the colour scheme. Then it was the ‘f’ on the new logo. Then it was something that she didn’t even hear.
She tried to nod. Tried to smile. Tried to handle it. Managing the whole thing on her own had been hard enough, but managing her wayward hormones when it came to Jared was just impossible.
‘OK, I get it,’ she interrupted him mid-critique. ‘Nothing about it is right.’
‘What?’
‘Nothing I do will be right for you.’ Standing, she shook her head and shuffled the papers together haphazardly.